Strip handling apparatus



y 1963 R. J. ERSKINE STRIP HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1955 INVENTOR Robert J. Erskine United States Patent 3,097,807 STRIP HANDLING APPARATUS Robert J. Erskine, Howland Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, assignor to The Wean Engineering Company, Inc., Warren, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 11, 1955, Ser. No. 527,845 2 Claims. (Cl. 242-671) Heretofore it has been customary to provide strip handling apparatus at the delivery end of a strip treat ment line, an electrolytic plating line for example, which may comprise a shear and a plurality of reels for coiling strip delivered from'the line. Heretofore it has been proposed to place a sheet classifier in position to receive the product of the line and to classify the strip product into sheets. It will usually be desired to operate the line at its maximum speed and under certain conditions this may be at a speed greater than the speed at which the sheet classifier is able to handle the product of the line. In such circumstances it has been impossible to operate the line at the maximum speed and feed the product directly to the sheet classifier which results in an increased operating cost.

I provide a plurality of reels in position to receive the product from the line. I provide a sheet classifier adjacent the delivery end of the line and a guide efiective to deliver the product of the strip treatment line to the reels or the classifier. I further provide a coil holder in a position to feed strip to the classifier.

Other details, objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a present preferred embodiment of my invention in which FIGURE 1A illustrates the delivery end of a strip treatment line including the pulling rolls of the strip treatment line, reels, coil holder, guide and inspecting means for a sheet classifier; and

FIGURE .1B is a continuation of FIGURE 1A and shows a roller leveler, shear and sheet classifier.

Strip 1 is pulled through the line by driven pulling rolls 2 around which the strip is wound. The strip passes into a shear 3 in which, after shearing, the leading end of the strip may be diverted by a deflector 4 to a position above or below the deflector. If the strip is diverted below the deflector it will follow guide 5 to a position near mandrel 6 of reel 7. The strip is initially wound upon the reel by a belt wrapper 8 whose operation is well known to those skilled in the art. If strip is diverted above deflector '4 it will pass along the top of guide 9. An outlet in the bottom of the guide is closed by an auxiliary guide 10. When auxiliary guide 10 is in the position shown in FIGURE 1A the Weight of the strip will carry it through the outlet and the strip will follow guide 10 to the vicinity of mandrel 11 of reel 12. There the strip will be coiled upon the mandrel by belt wrapper 13. Auxiliary guide 10 may be moved by oscillating arm 10a to close the outlet at which time it will form a solid floor to guide 9 and the strip will pass along the full length of guide 9 passing over deflector roll 14. The leading end of the strip is fed through inspecting means 15 following the path indicated by dotted line 16. The inspecting means comprise a photoelectric cell 15a which will detect pinholes or perforations in the strip and a gauge -15b. Passing beyond the inspecting means the strip will pass into a roller leveler -17 and through a rotary shear 18 which will cut the strip into sheets. The sheets are carried upon conveyor 19 into a sheet classifier 20' in which the sheets are classified into three piles 21, 22 and 23 according to the inspection made by inspecting apparatus 15. A coil holder 24 is 3,097,807, Patented July 16,1963

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placed beneath guide 9 and between reel 12 and inspecting means 15. Coils of strip are delivered to the coil holder by conveyor 25 and may be fed into inspecting means 15 following the path indicated by dotted line 26.

In operation, coils of strip will customarily be fed into the entry end of the strip treatment line and there welded end to end so that the flow of material through the line is continuous. The line may be running at a speed sufficiently slow that the sheet classifier will be enabled to handle the product delivered to it by the line. In such a case, strip will be passed directly through shear 3 above deflector 4 to guide 9. The strip will pass above deflector roll 14 and is fed through inspecting means 15 thence through roller leveler 17 and shear 18 to sheet classifier 20. The operation will be continuous with the product of the treatment line being cut into sheets by shear 18 and classified according to the inspection. When the strip treatment line is running at a speed higher than the capacity of the sheet classifier, the strip may be initially fed to mandrel 6 of reel 7 on which a coil may be formed. When a coil of full size has been formed, the strip is cut by shear 3 and deflector 4 is moved to deflect the leading end of the advancing strip to guide 9. The outlet will have been opened by lowering auxiliary guide 10 and a new coil is started upon reel 12. In the meantime, the coil upon reel 7 is removed. When the coil upon reel 12 has reached full size the strip is cut in shear 3 and a new coil started upon reel 7. In this manner, while a coil is being formed upon one reel, the previously prepared coil may be removed from the other reel and the reel prepared to start a new coil. After the first coil is formed, it may be transferred to reel 24 and be fed into the sheet classifier. In this manner the classifier may be used even though the strip treatment line is operating at a speed above the maximum speed of the classifier. The result will be to build up a backlog of coils of strip since they will be formed on reels 7 and 12 more rapidly than they can be fed into the classifier. If the strip treatment line is not being run on a full time basis the excess coils may be cut into sheets and classified by running the classifier alone on extra shifts. During these extra shifts, the strip treatment line may be shut down with a consequent saving in labor costs. If the strip treatment line is being run at full capacity the excess coils may be removed elsewhere and further processed on other equipment.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have invented new and useful means to increase the production of strip treatment lines or to reduce the labor cost required to operate such lines.

While I have illustrated and described a present preferred embodiment of my invention and have described a present preferred method of practicing the same, it is to be distinctly understood that I do not so limit myself and that my invention may be otherwise variously practiced within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In strip handling apparatus having a first strip processing line capable of operating at relatively high speeds, the maximum speed being limited and varied by operating conditions, and a second strip processing line aligned therewith adapted to handle the product of the first strip processing line, said second strip processing line having a lower maximum operating speed than the speed of said first strip processing line under some conditions, whereby the speeds of the two lines are compatible at some times and are incompatible at other times, the combination of strip conveyor means extending from the delivery end of the first strip processing line to the second strip processing line, whereby when said lines are operating at compatible speeds strip is conducted without interruption and intermediate handling from said first strip processing line to said second strip processing line, at least two spaced strip winding reels placed below said strip conveyor means and adapted to receive and coil the product of said first strip processing line at the operating speed thereof when the lines are operating at in compatible speeds, at least one coil holder placed :below said strip conveyor means and adapted to deliver strip from a coil mounted thereon to said second strip processing line at the operating speed thereof, said strip conveyor and said reels and coil holder comprising alternate parallel paths for delivery of strip from said first strip processing line to said second strip processing line at compatible and incompatible speeds, respectively.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the strip conveyor means additionally serves to conduct strip from 15 2,779,550

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,111,054 Paul Mar. 15, 1938 2,138,645 Rey Nov. 29, 1938 2,146,581 Kaufman Feb. 7, 1939 2,194,325 Rhea Mar. 19, 1940 2,200,656 Schefe May 14, 1940 2,229,638 Chamberlain et :al. Jan. 28, 1941 2,570,288 Todd Oct. 9, 1951 2,699,904 Wood Jan. 18, 1955 Muddiman Jan. 29, 1957 

1. IN STRIP HANDLING APPARATUS HAVING A FIRST STRIP PROCESSING LINE CAPABLE OF OPERATING AT RELATIVELY HIGH SPEEDS, THE MAXIMUM SPEED BEING LIMITED AND VARIED BY OPERATING CONDITIONS, AND A SECOND STRIP PROCESSING LINE ALIGNED THEREWITH ADAPTED TO HANDLE THE PRODUCT OF THE FIRST STRIP PROCESSING LINE, SAID SECOND STRIP PROCESSING LINE HAVING A LOWER MAXIMUM OPERATING SPEED THAN THE SPEED OF SAID FIRST STRIP PROCESSING LINE UNDER SOME CONDITIONS, WHEREBY THE SPEEDS OF THE TWO LINES ARE COMPATIBLE AT SOME TIMES AND ARE INCOMPATIBLE AT OTHER TIMES, THE COMBINATION OF STRIP CONVEYOR MEANS EXTENDING FROM THE DELIVERY END OF THE FIRST STRIP PROCESSING LINE TO THE SECOND STRIP PROCESSING LINE, WHEREBY WHEN SAID LINES ARE OPERATING AT COMPATIBLE SPEEDS STRIP IS CONDUCTED WITHOUT INTERRUPTION AND INTERMEDIATE HANDLING FROM SAID FIRST STRIP PROCESSING LINE TO SAID SECOND STRIP PROCESSING LINE, AT LEAST TWO SPACED STRIP WINDING REELS PLACED BELOW SAID 